After a lengthy discussion about e-cigarettes at a Toronto Board of Health meeting Monday, the board has unanimously decided to ask the province to ban the vapour-producing products wherever smoking is prohibited.
The board is giving the province six months to get regulations together and if the provincial government does not respond, the city's medical officer of health wants to put restrictions in place at the municipal level.
During the meeting, the board heard a number of deputations from members of the community with polarizing views.
One of the main concerns surrounding the products is that they can legally be sold and marketed to minors.
The board addressed this concern by recommending that e-cigarettes not be sold to young people. Another recommendation is that retailers should be prohibited from selling flavoured e-cigarettes.
Lilian Riad-Allen, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) employee, told CP24 that research on the subject of e-cigarettes is scant.
“More research would need to happen in this area so that we aren’t repeating the mistakes of our past and making more people in a new generation addicted to tobacco,” she said.
In a written statement, Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said he has asked the Ministry of Health to review the issues around e-cigarettes and corresponding research.
"Electronic cigarettes have been identified as an emerging trend in Ontario, and concerns have been raised about possible implications for tobacco control efforts, including prevention, cessation and de-normalizing tobacco use,” he said.
“At this time, there is limited research on the effectiveness of e-cigarettes to help people quit smoking, their potential health risks, and any link to tobacco use uptake.”
Hoskins said it is important that the federal government take an “active role” in e-cigarette regulation.
“I intend to raise the issue at the forthcoming meeting of provincial-territorial-federal health ministers in September,” he said.
“We have a responsibility at all levels of government to put in place whatever measures are necessary based on evidence that best reflect the public interest and the well-being of our youth."
Mayor Rob Ford told reporters Monday that he does not support adding “more red tape” to the issue.
“If they want to have their e-cigarettes, that’s fine,” Ford said. “I’m not going to support banning cigarettes … if we are going to start banning cigarettes at certain places, here, there, why don’t we just ban smoking in the City of Toronto?”
